Nothing More
by Ivysumi Nagao
Summary: Mamimi has returned to Mabase, but Naota can't keep his mind off Haruko.I started this in 2004. I reread it recently and it gave me mixed feelings about what kind of decent kidwriter i was... I just have to continue this.
1. chapter 1 Reunion

Thanks to my best friend, Ladye Black- the best fic writer I've ever known! This is my first fic!  
  
Note: author's notes are in parentheses  
  
I do not own FLCL in any way- I'm just borrowing a few characters  
  
Nothing More  
by Ivysumi Nagao  
  
Chapter 1- Reunion  
  
One dreary day, Naota was on his way home from school. The rain was starting to splatter hard against his umbrella now, and he was debating on whether to do his homework at home and look lame, or just not do it at all. Not particularly likeing either choice, Naota was concentrating hard trying to decide what would be best, so much so that as he started to cross the bridge, he almost missed the figure in the grass below. Luckily he caught a glimpse of the poor woman sitting there in the rain. (This was my idea for quite some time, hope this isn't out of character at all )  
  
His usual, cynical expression softened to convey more of a nostalgic look. Sitting there that way, she reminded him of Mamimi. Ah, good old Mamimi, who always used to hang around there by the river no matter what the weather. He sighed thinking of how much this life of his had changed since those days. For some reason he felt his legs moving in the opposite direction, taking him down to meet this person, whoever she may be. As he neared the figure he spoke.  
  
"Uh, hello?"- no answer. He could see her shiver beneath her heavy fur coat. "Its starting to rain pretty hard, don't you mind it?" Still sitting, she turned to face him.  
  
"Ta..., uh, Naota-kun?" It was her! It was Mamimi! Her appearance had changed quite a bit, since he had last seen her and clearly conveyed the successful life she had come to indulge in. If her manner had not been so neatly imprinted into Naota's memory, he wouldn't have recognized her. For a moment he just stood there stunned, but his excitement burst forth like floodwaters tearing at a corrugated tin hut.  
  
"I can't believe its really you! Its been so long! So many years! What in the world are you doing in Mabase! I mean I never expected you to come back! Not in a million years! Wow! It is you. Its really you! How are ya anyway!?"  
  
She half-smiled, her ruby-red lips not allowing a single tooth to peek through. "Actually Takkun, not so good. Could you help me up, I fell and hurt my leg pretty bad." Mamimi pulled up her long black dress as far as the knee to reveal a somewhat disfigured limb.  
  
"Oh, uh, sure," He said as he handed her his umbrella. And helped her to her feet. She winced in pain.  
  
"You wanna go to the hospital? Uh, here," he offered "I can carry you."  
  
A quizzical expression crossed her face for a moment as she was faced  
  
with the realization that this was actually something the now seemingly grown-up Naota-kun could do. She nodded and was gently hoisted her up off the ground, Naota taking great care not to touch her injury. 


	2. chapter 2 Rickenbacker 4001

I do not own FLCL- I'm just borrowing a few characters

Nothing More  
by Ivysumi Nagao

Chapter 2- Rickenbacker 4001

"It turned out, her leg wasn't broken as seriously as I thought, but

the doctor said she was lucky that she didn't have to go back in for surgery," Naota explained. The way that day had been going, he had half- expected to see Haruko at the hospital in her nurse outfit. That would definitely been something. It would have been quite a pleasant surprise. At this he smiled.

"So she's living with you now?" Tasuku asked, bringing him back to reality.

"Mamimi, yeah."

"Hmmm, maybe I should pay you a visit soon."

"What are you talking about? You didn't even come home for Grandpa's funeral!"

"I know, but..., well never mind, I'm probably the last person she wants to see anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, Is Dad around?"

Naota handed the phone to his dad.

"What was that about?" Kamon asked him.

Naota didn't answer.

He went upstairs to his room. Mamimi, crutches by her side, had fallen asleep on his floor. Takkun played with her hair and Kanchi stood by the window. "Its late," Naota said looking at the clock. He lie down on his bed and looked expectedly at the robot, who crossed the room, picking up the cat and turning out the light before shutting the door on his way out.

Naota closed his eyes, but couldn't fall asleep. He opened them and rolled over on his back to look up at the ceiling. He still wasn't used to not seeing the top bunk above him, which had been gone for some time now. Naota sat up and peered into the vast darkness around him. Letting his eyes adjust, he could make out the same familiar shapes that inhabited his room during day.

He made his way past the sleeping Mamimi to Haruko's guitar- a rare,

vintage azureglo Rickenbacker 4001. It was his now, but it didn't feel like something he could really consider his. It felt more like a part of Haruko herself- a piece of her soul. Naota picked it up. Sitting at his desk, he ran his fingers along the strings not allowing them to make any sound. As though awaken by the very act, Mamimi sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Can you play a song?" she asked sleepily as she leaned back against Naota's bed.

"No," he said promptly putting the Rickenbacker down.

"Try," she yawned.

A motor could be heard in the distance- the sound of a small engine, perhaps that of a vespa, traveling at high speed.

"I don't know any songs."

"Just try."

"I told you, I don't know any songs!"

It was getting louder- closer.

"What ever happened to Haru-san?"

"How should I know?"

A bright light flashed by the window in passing, and the sound of the

engine faded.

They both sat there, neither one saying a word. After a while, Naota

was sure that Mamimi had fallen asleep. He got up and crossed the room to his bed, and took up a blanket, wrapping Mamimi in it. She looked so cute and innocent when she slept that Naota couldn't help but give her a kiss on the forehead, before crawling into bed himself. He almost felt like her mother. 


	3. chapter 3 Anything More

Nothing More By Ivysumi Nagao  
  
FLCL doesn't belong to me

author's notes are in parenthesis  
  
Chapter 3- Anything More  
  
Sunlight streamed in through window and warmed Naota's face, coaxing him awake. As much as he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't. He still felt tried. It wasn't the kind of tried that could be easily chased away by a cool a.m. shower. It was the kind of tired that lingered all day like the warm, slightly unplaceable taste of morning breath when you've lost your minty- fresh toothpaste.  
  
Suddenly he realized he was on the floor. He must have fallen out of bed. 'Wait a minute!' he thought. 'Mamimi was sleeping here! But she had a broken leg. Where could she have gone?' Naota jumped up with renewed energy, ran out of the room and downstairs.  
  
There she was downstairs sitting at their table finishing breakfast with Kamon and Kanchi. He realized it was silly to have worried about her. Kanchi must have brought her downstairs. Naota just stood there in the doorway.  
  
It was Mamimi who finally noticed him. "Hey sleepy-head, Naota- kun."  
  
"Some night you must have had," Kamon said with a smirk.  
  
MiyuMiyu opened an eye to peer at him from across the room.  
  
Naota sat down at the table. Kanchi was in the room, but he could've sworn he heard someone doing dishes in the kitchen. 'any minute now' he thought Haruko would appear and say something about there being no breakfast for those who slept in late- something like that. Instead it was Takkun who appeared to perform his morning ritual of crawling into Mamimi's lap to be fed the small remnants of her breakfast.  
  
Naota got up. "I'm going out."  
  
"What, no breakfast, Nao?"  
  
The door slammed closed. ... Footsteps down the hall- the scraping sound of a baseball bat being dragged a few steps across the wooden floors- a pause- the slam of another door falling victim to Naota's careless behaviors.  
  
Outside the cool, damp air brushed against Naota's cheeks, turning them slightly pink. He shivered, remembering the way the wind rushed across his face when he rode with Haruko on her Vespa. Naota kind of missed the crazy life she had enabled him to live. What he wouldn't give to see her now.  
  
He went to the baseball field and stood over home base poised to strike, but couldn't bring himself to swing the bat, so he headed down towards the old, burned out school house. On the way he met Masashi and Gaku who were on their way to the store. They convinced him to go along with them to look at the newest issues of "Delabe" and "Bomb" magazines.  
  
That's where Naota finally saw Haruko. "Focus magazine" had a picture of her- one that was taken by Mamimi before Mamimi was a renown photographer. The magazine claimed that she was some relation to Mizuno Haruo and horded nearly a half dozen of his films which were never released to the public.  
  
Naota left the store feeling worse than ever. He was sick of Haruko constantly being on his mind, especially, when he thought of how she may never be a part of his life again.  
  
As he neared his house he heard music. Someone was singing and strumming a guitar. He realized that his bedroom window was open, and the music was coming from his house. Could it be Haruko!? Naota threw open the front door, and flew up the stairs, throwing off his shoes, along with his brother's bat as he went. He tripped on the top step and hit the floor- hard. He hardly noticed the blood trickling down his face as he smashed through his bedroom door. Panting frantically he stood aghast at the sight of Mamimi and Kanchi, who seemed to be having quite the concert. (I love being sadistic. Well, not that much, but it was so mean of me to do this to Naota wasn't it! Hahahaaaa)  
  
Naota could hardly believe it. What were they doing? Why was Kanchi even touching Haruko's Rickenbacker!? Desecration! It was desecration! (- Miya-jun moment) That guitar was everything to Naota, the one thing he held most dear to his heart. He was overcome with rage, about to rip it out of the robot's hands, when Haruko danced into the room. (see, I'm not that mean)  
  
"Turn it around," she said to Kanchi, who no one noticed had been hold the Rickenbacker upside down the whole time. "Ah! Not NOW mOTioN sIckNesS!" she yelled as she threw herself down the hall, and tumbled into the bathroom.  
  
Naota stood there a moment contemplating everything that just went on. He smiled. This had been possibly one of the best and worst days of his life. However, this is what he had wanted. He could have asked for nothing more.


	4. Chapter 4 Samejima

This one isn't too eventful, but I really wanted to write about Mamimi.

FLCL does not belong to me!

Please, please, please review!

Chapter 4- Samejima

It was Monday- a late, boring Monday afternoon. Naota was late coming home from school, Haruko out messing with Medical Mecanica or something, and Kamon was hard at work on his zine, leaving Mamimi and Kanchi alone in the bakery. There hadn't been any customers all day. Business was slow on Mondays. Actually, business was slow everyday- that was normal. But, today time seemed to drag on forever.

Mamimi thought of Tasuku. He hadn't come back for her. He never would have been the one to save her. If anyone, it was Naota. However, Mamimi still couldn't shake Tasuku from her memory. She didn't really want to anyway, except, when she considered this, she wasn't quite sure if she preferred him to stale bred crusts.

Kanchi had just pulled a loaf out of the oven. It was curry bread- the spicy stuff.

Too sad to cry, Mamimi got up and hobbled outside, fumbling to get out the door on crutches. She lit a cigarette- her last one.

Haruko could be heard speeding down the street on her Vespa now. Mamimi could always hear her before she could see her. When she was a little less than half a block away, Haruko slammed on the brakes and skidded sideways the rest of the way home, causing an elderly woman to hurry across the street in avoidance. It was a wonder the poor Vespa had survived that long.

Haruko glanced down the street. "Takkun's coming," she said to Mamimi, as an evil grimace crossed her face.

Haruko began to kiss her neck. Mamimi started laughing, almost loosing her cigarette. (Don't worry- it probably won't get yuri... unless thats what you want. I do like to be mean to Naota, perhaps a bit too much though. I thought 'lets try & make 'em jealous.' Ah, sweet sadisticness!)

"Hey," Mamimi said, taking the cigarette out of her mouth, "Haru-san!"

Haruko kept it up until Naota had given her the 'death stare' and proceeded to step inside the house.

She let out a long malicious laugh, as she shuffled inside.

Once again Mamimi was left alone, but not for long. Kanchi, shopping list in hand, stepped outside before Mamimi had finished her cigarette. She crushed it on the pavement, and Kanchi lifted her up onto his shoulders before heading off to the store.

As they made their way down the street, the setting sun shone behind them, making them look like the silhouette of some great demon. At that moment, Mamimi realized that Kanchi would always be there for her.


	5. Chapter 5 Intoxication

I turned my original chapter 5 into another fic. 'cause this fic. wasn't getting many reviews & I wasn't sure anyone liked it. But thanks to those who recently gave me good reviews, the story continues!

Oh, and by the way, I don't own FLCL or its characters.

Chapter 5- Intoxication

Naota slipped his shoes off without untying the laces and left them by the door. He thought about his messed up life as his footsteps fell heavily upon the stairs. Agitated with Haruko, he slammed his door open and threw himself back onto his soft bed. He closed his eyes and tried to push her from his mind, but he couldn't. He still loved her.

"Haruko is a selfish woman. She didn't come back because of you."

"She did! What other reason could she have?" Naota cried

"You, should know better than anyone," Tasuku said slurping ramen from a cup.

"What should I know?" Naota demanded slamming his chopsticks down on the table.

"She wants Atomsk. She wants his power, not you."

Naota was hurt, although in the back of his mind, he had known all along that Atomsk was her desire. Tasuku disappeared. Enveloped in darkness, he sat alone in contemplation. There was something missing inside of him.

When he woke up Mamimi was sitting on the floor beside him, her arms folded, resting on the bed. Naota sat up urgently, trying to clear up his mind.

She looked upset, as if she was going to cry. He couldn't remember ever seeing her like this. Was he still dreaming? She didn't seem like she was the kind of person to come to tears about anything.

"What's wrong?" he asked leaning forward. Without speaking a word, Mamimi fell into him as he fell backward onto his bed. Her body felt small in his arms. Slowly, he brought his arms around to envelope her. Naota could feel her warm breath as she brought her lips up to his.

"You smell like cigarettes," he said. Although that didn't stop him from embracing her a kiss so long that it seemed overdue. He could feel her body almost screaming out how desperately needy she was to just love and be loved genuinely in return.

...but did Mamimi love him? did she still really want his brother instead?

Thats all for this chappie!

Hope that wasn't too confusing for you.

I haven't seen FLCL in a while. sob I can't get it out of the college lib. anymore! sob But I keep referring to the manga.

ANYWAY, what I'm getting at is- if the characters seem out-of-character, please tell me.

Sorry that was so short! I just need to know what you think so far. I'll update soon if you want, so, PLEASE REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6 Halfway

FLCL doesn't belong to me. --

Don't forget to R&R! (please!)

Chapter 6- Halfway

The potent scent of curry wafted through the Nandaba household, waking Naota. He rolled over to look at his clock. -6:00 am-

"Whats she doing up this early on a Saturday?" he asked noone in particular. Yawning quietly, he got up and took his school uniform from a messy stack of newly washed laundry. Kanchi never put anything away right nowadays. He'd only been doing things for the half since Haruko came back. Naota gazed at Mamimi sleeping angelically on his bed for a moment, then left the room, gently sliding the door only half way shut.

Clad in the highschool student's uniform, Naota returned to claim his bag; placing a book into it spine down. He glanced once more at Mamimi who's expression hadn't changed.

He quietly padded down the stairs and through the hall, past the kitchen. Attempting to slip outside unnoticed, he slid his shoes on without tying the laces and tried to slide the reluctant door open. Haruko caught him when he had it only half way open. He turned around just as she stepped into veiw with a sly grin on her face and a small box in her hand.

"For lunch," she said, thrusting it into his hands without making sure he had a hold on it.


End file.
